Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Youth Mobility Scheme: EU Countries

Lord Jackson of Peterborough: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the European Commission on proposals to open negotiations to facilitate youth mobility between the European Union and the United Kingdom.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK recognises the cultural value of youth mobility and the importance of facilitating cultural exchange opportunities for young people. We have successful Youth Mobility Schemes (YMS) with 13 countries, including Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The Government is willing to explore precedent based bilateral YMS arrangements with international partners, including individual EU Member States who are interested. The Government has no plans to agree to an EU-wide Youth Mobility Scheme.

Sanctions

Lord Swire: To ask His Majesty's Government when the UKsanctions list was last reviewed; and whether they will make the review public.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The government keeps all sanctions designations under review and, under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, a Minister may instigate a reassessment of a designation at any time.The UK sanctions list is updated publicly on gov.uk every time a decision is made to make, vary, or revoke a designation. These updates are also publicised through the FCDO's sanctions e-alert subscription system.The UK Sanctions List (UKSL) can be found here:[https://docs.fcdo.gov.uk/docs/UK-Sanctions-List.html]

Iran: Israel

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government what diplomatic steps the Foreign Secretary is taking to help de-escalate hostilities between Israel and Iran in order to prevent a wider Middle East war.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We condemned in the strongest terms Iran's direct attack against Israel on 13 April. The UK will continue to stand up for Israel's security and the security of all our regional partners. We are working urgently with our allies to deescalate the situation.The Foreign Secretary spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian on 14 April and called for Iran to take immediate action to de-escalate, including by restraining their aligned militia groups and immediately releasing the MSC Aries and her crew. Furthermore, the UK announced new sanctions on Iran on 18 April, and in coordination with the US, targeted those who have enabled Iran's destabilising regional activity.

Ukraine: War Crimes

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask His Majesty's Government how much funding (1) they have given so far, and (2) they have pledged to give, to support the government of Ukraine's investigations into war crimes, and how much they have given and pledged to give to the International Criminal Court or any other international bodies supporting victims and witnesses of war crimes.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is committed to holding Russia to account for its actions in Ukraine. We have provided £6.2 million of capacity-building support to Ukraine's domestic work to document, investigate, and prosecute war crimes. Since February 2022, we have provided £2.3 million in additional contributions to the International Criminal Court to increase its capacity to collect evidence and support survivors. This is on top of our annual budget contribution to the ICC, a total of £36.2 million for 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Department of Health and Social Care

Nutrition

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the work of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition; how many of their recommendations in relation to nutrition have been implemented; and how many have not been implemented, and why.

Lord Markham: The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) is a committee of the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), and provides independent scientific advice to ministers, as well as risk assessments on nutrition and related health issues. The SACN undertakes robust consideration of the evidence for its risk assessments, before providing dietary recommendations.Ministers are informed of the SACN’s publications and risk assessments on the same basis as official statistics. Following publication, ministers consider the recommendations and policy options for implementation, including for application across the United Kingdom, and involvement of the devolved administrations where appropriate.To date, all of the SACN’s dietary recommendations have been accepted by the Government. However, on occasion, recommendations have been adapted for implementation. For example, in 2016 the SACN recommended a reference nutrient intake for vitamin D of 10 micrograms per day for the general population, for the whole year. However, the Government advises that the general population only takes a daily 10 microgram supplement during the winter months, to take account of the contribution from the sun during the summer months.

Tropical Diseases: Disease Control

Lord Oates: To ask His Majesty's Government, following reports thattropical viruses such as West Nile Virus have spread to Europe, what assessment they have made, if any, of the case forscreening blood donations for tropical viruses.

Lord Markham: United Kingdom blood services test blood donations for West Nile virus (WNV), if it is indicated by the information provided in the individual’s donor safety questionnaire that they have travelled to an area where WNV is circulating. Other tests for malaria, cytomegalovirus, and the parasite trypanosoma cruzi may be conducted if the donor has a history of recent travel to an area where one or more of these conditions is common. The Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO) advises the Government on the most appropriate ways to ensure the safety of blood, including screening. The SaBTO Virology Subcommittee is conducting a review into the approach of screening for WNV. A report with their recommendations will be published following completion of the review.

Healthy Start Scheme

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: To ask His Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of (1) the eligibility criteria, and (2) the available methods of applying, for people aged under 18 with children who are seeking to apply for the NHS Healthy Start scheme.

Lord Markham: The Department keeps the eligibility criteria for the Healthy Start scheme under continuous review. There are no current plans to change eligibility for the scheme. The NHS Business Services Authority also keeps the application methods for the NHS Healthy Start scheme under review, and there are no current plans to change the process for under 18 year olds.Those who are under 18 years old, with parental responsibility for at least one child under four years old, and who meet the eligibility criteria for Healthy Start through Universal Credit or Child Tax Credit, can apply online. This is the same process for all who are eligible through these qualifying benefits.

Tropical Diseases: Disease Control

Lord Oates: To ask His Majesty's Government what contingency planning, if any, they have conducted to anticipate the spread of tropical virus transmission to the United Kingdom.

Lord Markham: The outbreak of an emerging infectious disease is a categorised risk, in the 2023 National Risk Register. Working closely with the Department and NHS England, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has a programme of work in place to plan and respond to this risk.The UKHSA continues to monitor the global epidemiology of infectious diseases, to inform the assessment of risk to the United Kingdom’s population. Routine surveillance is carried out for a range of viral infections that may be acquired overseas. Data on some of these infections is published in the annual Travel-associated infections reports. Information collated from these various sources are routinely reviewed and assessed through the relevant UKHSA Horizon Scanning Group, with appropriate public health actions proposed to mitigate any threats.The Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory has a small serological study, partnering with NHS Blood and Transplant and at-risk groups, to look for evidence of exposure to Usutu, West Nile, and tick-borne encephalitis viruses. The Medical Entomology and Zoonoses Ecology group study vector distribution, and look for the presence of tropical and other viruses in relevant arthropod species in an ongoing surveillance programme. The Animal and Plant Health Agency has a programme of surveillance in wild birds and mammals. The Department of Health and Social Care, the UKHSA, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs published a national contingency plan for invasive mosquitoes that may spread vector-borne diseases, such as dengue, Zika and chikungunya.

General Practitioners: Internet

Lord Shipley: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the triage system used by some GP practices which requires all contact by patients seeking a GP appointment to be conducted online.

Lord Markham: We published our Delivery Plan for Recovering Access to Primary Care in May 2023, which sets out how we are moving toward a Modern General Practice (GP) model. This plan is backed by £240 million of retargeted funding, going to providing digital services, with the goal of increasing access. The plan sets out how, by improving digital access to GPs, we will free up capacity for those patients who want to contact their practice by telephone or in-person. We are also clear that online tools must always be provided in addition to, rather than as a replacement for, other channels for accessing GPs.The sole method for GPs to procure these digital services is via NHS England’s procurement frameworks, which list pre-approved suppliers for digital and IT services. This is to ensure consistency in service provisions, as each supplier must meet a set of requirements to be entered into a framework.As of March 2024, 93% of GPs now have digital telephony systems. This has enabled GP teams to manage multiple calls, helping to end the 8:00am rush for appointments. Trials show that this has increased patients’ ability to get through to their practice by almost a third.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of new data from the Office for National Statistics showing that alcohol-specific deaths are now 32.8 per cent higher than in 2019 and at an all-time high; and what steps they plan to take to tackle rising alcohol harm.

Lord Markham: The Government keeps all official health data related to alcohol consumption and alcohol related harms under regular review. The 2021 Public Health England publication, Monitoring alcohol consumption and harm during the COVID-19 pandemic, found that increases in alcohol consumption since the beginning of the pandemic tended to be among people who were already heavy drinkers before this period, which may be a factor in the increase. The most effective way to prevent alcohol specific deaths, is drinking within the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk drinking guidelines, namely under 14 units per week. The Government is supporting people who drink above low-risk levels to reduce their alcohol consumption. As part of the NHS Health Check, questions are asked about alcohol consumption, and appropriate advice given to support people to make healthier choices. Those identified to be drinking at higher-risk levels are referred for liver investigation. The Department is also supporting people with alcohol dependency through the Drug Strategy and NHS Long Term Plan, by facilitating more people in need of treatment into local authority commissioned alcohol treatment services.

Maternity Services

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in implementing the three year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services, published on 30 March 2023.

Lord Markham: NHS England is making good progress in delivering its Three year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services, a copy of which is attached. The plan is backed by £186 million of funding per year from April 2024, which sets out how maternity and neonatal care will be made safer, more personalised, and more equitable for women, babies, and families.For example, many local maternity and neonatal systems have published Equity and Equality Action Plans to tackle disparities in outcomes and experiences of maternity care at a local level. NHS England has published new guidance for general practitioners on the 6-8 week postnatal check, all parts of England have begun rollout of perinatal pelvic health services and 39 maternal mental health services have been established.All trusts are implementing the third version of the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle which provides maternity units with detailed guidance to reduce stillbirths and neonatal deaths.NHS England’s Digital Maternity Fund has awarded 128 funding bids to support the digitisation of maternity services across England and NHS England have established a new data taskforce to better detect and act sooner on safety issues.Finally, to increase neonatal cot capacity, £45 million of capital was allocated across several providers to deliver an overall increase of more than 50 cots.3yr delivery plan - maternity & neonatal services (pdf, 876.4KB)

Maternity Services

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in establishing specialist care for maternity and neonatal services in every area of England, including pelvic health services and bereavement care.

Lord Markham: NHS England has committed to rolling out perinatal pelvic health services (PPHS) across England as part of the Three year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services, and has recently published a national service specification and implementation guidance, which will aid local National Health Service commissioners in establishing them. A copy of the plan is attached.As of February 2024, 19 integrated care boards (ICBs) have confirmed their PPHS is operational, while sustainable commissioning arrangements are in place across 17 ICBs.The National Bereavement Care Pathway (NBCP) for Pregnancy and Baby Loss was launched with Departmental funding in 2017. Based on nine standards, it is a dedicated evidence-based care pathway, with guidance for professionals providing bereavement care to parents and families. Ensuring parent voice is at the heart of the NBCP's development, Sands has led on its development and implementation. As of January 2024, 126 NHS trusts in England with maternity services have voluntarily committed to adopting the nine NBCP standards.3yr delivery plan - maternity & neonatal services (pdf, 876.4KB)

Maternity Services: Equality

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government whether all integrated care systems have published equity and equality plans, and whether they have taken action to reduce inequalities in experience and outcomes as recommended by the three year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services, published on 30 March 2023.

Lord Markham: As of 25 April 2024, 39 out of 42 integrated care boards (ICBs) have published Equity and Equality Action Plans. NHS England’s regional teams are supporting the remaining ICBs to publish their plans.NHS England has provided more than £20 million in funding to local maternity and neonatal systems (LMNS) each year to lead improvement of maternity and neonatal care around objectives set out in the Three year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services, a copy of which is attached. This includes implementing LMNS Equity and Equality Action Plans. NHS England has also invested an annual recurrent £10 million to target action at the 10% most deprived areas of England, who we know are more likely to experience adverse outcomes during pregnancy and birth.3yr delivery plan - maternity & neonatal services (pdf, 876.4KB)

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Health Services

Baroness Scott of Needham Market: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to develop a pathway of care for people with severe myalgic encephalomyelitis who require hospitalisation.

Baroness Scott of Needham Market: To ask His Majesty's Government whatsteps they are taking to ensure accurate coding of a diagnosis of myalgic encephalomyelitis on both primary and secondary care records.

Baroness Scott of Needham Market: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made ofhospital compliance withNational Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines for the treatment of inpatients with severemyalgic encephalomyelitis.

Lord Markham: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guideline, Myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy)/chronic fatigue syndrome: diagnosis and management, published in October 2021, outlines the expectations for inpatient care for patients with severe myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), who require hospitalisation.The National Health Service commissions services across England that provide support for people living with ME. In October 2023, the British Association of Clinicians in ME/CFS published the ME/CFS National Services Survey 2023. This report provides insight into the services being delivered for adults, children, and young people with ME.No assessment has been made of the extent of hospital compliance with the NICE guidelines on ME. It is the duty of clinicians to keep themselves appraised of best practice, in particular guidance issued by the NICE. Whilst guidelines are not mandatory, clinicians and commissioners are expected to take them fully into account when designing services that meet the needs of their local population. The NICE promotes its guidance via its website, newsletters, and other media.The Department is working with NHS England to develop an e-learning course on ME for healthcare professionals, with the aim of supporting staff to be able to provide better care, and improve patient outcomes. The Medical Schools Council will promote the NHS England e-learning package on ME to all United Kingdom medical schools, and encourage those schools to provide undergraduates with direct patient experience of ME.Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT) is used in the NHS to ensure accurate coding of medical conditions, including ME, in both primary and secondary care records. Within SNOMED CT, all content for ME is contained within a single overarching code, with linked codes for mild, moderate, and severe forms. These can be used by all NHS healthcare providers, including general practitioners. It is estimated that there are over 250,000 people in England and Wales with ME.

Maternity Disparities Taskforce

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government whether there have been any outcomes from the work of the Maternity Disparities Taskforce.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government how many meetings of the Maternity Disparities Taskforce have taken place since its establishment.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government whether there are any further meetings planned for the Maternity Disparities Taskforce.

Lord Markham: The Maternity Disparities Taskforce has met six times. The taskforce will meet again in due course, to further explore and consider evidence-based interventions to tackle disparities in maternity outcomes and experience.The taskforce is currently focused on developing a targeted pre-pregnancy toolkit, aimed at women from ethnic minorities and deprived areas, which will encourage healthy behaviours and planning for pregnancy by supporting women to make informed choices about their health and wellbeing.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what is (1) the percentage, and (2) the total number, of people who have moved to Universal Credit and who used transitional protection in England and Wales from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: Statistics to March 2024 will be published on 14 May 2024 as announced here:Move to Universal Credit statistics, July 2022 to March 2024 - Official statistics announcement - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Department for Education

Overseas Students: Economic Situation

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the contribution of international students to the UK economy.

Baroness Barran: The government recognises the significant economic and cultural contribution that international students make to the UK’s higher education (HE) sector.International tuition fee income at HE providers can be found on the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) at: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/finances/income.

Cabinet Office

Import Controls

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government, furtherto the Written Answer byBaroness Neville-Rolfe on 14 March (HL2915), why they do not plan to publish further information on business readiness of the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) now the details of BTOM have changed since the original readiness assessment was undertaken.

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Neville-Rolfe on 14 March (HL2919), whether the inflationary impact model will be updated on the basis of (1) the announced Common User Charge, and (2) the application of the Common User Charge to the additional fruit and vegetables that have been classified as medium rather than low risk.

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Neville-Rolfe on 14 March (HL2919), why they do notplan to publish the detailed methodology and findings of the inflationary impact model.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The approach and plans set out within the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) remain unchanged. We will continue to support business readiness throughout the implementation of checks and take a sensible pragmatic approach to enforcement.The government’s consumer food price inflation model for the BTOM included an assessment of policy measures likely to affect the cost and/or quantity of traded products, including the Government-run BCP operating costs that will be recovered via a Common User Charge. Estimates of the cost and impact of the Charge were included in the modelling of the inflationary impact of the BTOM and we stand by these estimates.This data includes a mix of published and unpublished commercially sensitive data sources. To publish only a partial picture of that data would not be in keeping with statistical propriety.

Home Office

Counter Terrorism Command: Finance

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total allocation of funds to the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command in (1) the current, and (2) previous, financial year; and what proportion of those funds in each period was allocated to the War Crimes Unit.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: Budget allocations are set by Counter-Terrorism Policing Headquarters, who work with the Home Office and police forces to advise on funding for the counter-terrorism police network, including for specific units. Breakdowns of allocations to police forces or specific units are not provided publicly for national security reasons.

Drugs: Smuggling

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that online sales representatives, working for illicit Chinese pharmaceutical and chemical companies, are producing and smuggling illegal drugs into the UK, what action they are taking to combat the sale and advertisement of such drugs on the internet, and what responsethey have received from any representations they have made to the government of China in this regard.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: Illicit production of synthetic drugs is a growing global concern, and we assess that criminal groups involved in illicit production are present in numerous countries around the world, including China. UK law enforcement agencies regularly engage with counterparts in countries where websites supplying and advertising illicit drugs are hosted. We have provided additional resources to the National Crime Agency (NCA) and Home Office international networks in key source and transit countries to work with other governments to identify and disrupt criminal groups who seek to exploit the UK. We are also working closely with partners to monitor developments in source countries, to assess how changes are likely to affect the drugs threat to the UK.With regards to action being taken to combat the sale of illicit drugs on the internet, our Online Safety Act will introduce measures requiring platforms to remove content relating to the sale of illegal drugs online and prevent users from being exposed to it. If they fail to comply, they risk stiff financial penalties or in the most serious cases, having their sites blocked by the independent regulator, Ofcom.Additionally, the NCA, along with policing colleagues across the UK target key offenders operating online and work to ensure they have the resources and powers they need to keep our country safe. For example, proposals are being taken forward in the Criminal Justice Bill to create a new power enabling law enforcement to suspend IP addresses and/or domain names being used for criminal purpose, including the sale of illicit drugs. This new power will allow agencies to obtain a court order to formally request action by organisations both domestically and outside of the UK.

Identity Cards

Lord Swire: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have given any consideration to the use of ID cards.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The Home Office is not considering ID cards at this time.

Youth Mobility Scheme: EU Countries

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government, following news that they have rejected an offer by the European Commission for a youth mobility scheme, what factors they considered when deciding to reject the offer.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The UK notes the publication by the European Commission on 18 April 2024 setting out a proposal to EU Member States and seeking their agreement to negotiate a UK/EU wide Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS). This is currently a matter for the EU and its Member States and the UK has not been formally approached.The UK currently operates 13 successful bilateral YMS schemes with international partners, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand, and continues to believe bilateral schemes with international partners are the most effective and efficient way of facilitating opportunities for young people.

Devon and Cornwall Police: Community Policing

Lord Berkeley: To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) police officers, and (2) police community support officers, were employed inneighbourhood policing in Devon & Cornwall Police in each year from 2010 to present.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the function of police workers, as at 31 March each year, in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.Since 2012, the Home Office has published statistics on the functions of police workers which includes a “neighbourhood policing” function. From 31 March 2015 onwards, the Home Office replaced the ‘old’ functions framework with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy’s (CIPFA) Police Objective Analysis (POA) framework. The POA framework also includes a “neighbourhood policing” function although the two frameworks are not directly comparable.Data on the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) police officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) in neighbourhood policing roles, collected under the CIPFA POA framework, in Devon and Cornwall, between 31 March 2015 and 2023, can be found in Tables F1 and F3 of the data tables accompanying each publication. The Home Office do not hold directly comparable data on the number of police officers and PCSOs employed in neighbourhood policing roles for years prior to 2015.Table 1 shows the number of FTE police officers and PCSOs employed in neighbourhood policing roles in Devon and Cornwall between the 31 March 2015 and 2023. As at 31 March 2023, there were 264 FTE police officers employed in neighbourhood policing roles in Devon and Cornwall, an increase of 1.6% (4 FTE) compared to March 2015. The number of officers in neighbourhood policing roles had been declining between 2015 and 2018, when it reached a low of 220 FTE, before increasing year on year to levels seen in March 2015. Whilst the number of officers in neighbourhood police officers is similar to 2015, the proportion has decreased by 1.2 percentage points from 8.9% in 2015 to 7.7% in 2023.As at 31 March 2023, there were 129 FTE PCSOs employed in neighbourhood policing roles, a decrease of 61.2% (204 FTE) compared to March 2015 when there were 333 FTE PCSOs employed in neighbourhood policing roles. Whilst the number of PCSOs has been declining, the proportion of PCSOs employed in neighbourhood policing roles has remained consistent.Table 1: Number and proportion of full-time equivalent police officers and PCSOs employed in neighbourhood policing roles, as at 31 March 2015 to 2023, Devon and CornwallAs at 31 MarchPolice officersPCSOsNumberProportion (%)NumberProportion (%)20152608.9333100.020162408.4339100.020172318.2300100.020182207.7245100.020192287.9203100.020202287.7189100.020212368.0164100.020222537.915499.420232647.7129100.0 Some forces are not able to make a clear distinction between certain subfunctions and therefore record the majority of, or all, employees under one function. This is particularly apparent for the ‘Neighbourhood Policing’ (1a) and ‘Incident (Response) Management’ (1b) functions, so the Home Office recommends using the wider function of “Local Policing”. Data for local policing is shown in Table 2 below.Table 2: Number and proportion of full-time equivalent police officers and PCSOs employed in local policing roles, as at 31 March 2015 to 2023, Devon and CornwallAs at 31 MarchPolice officersPCSOsNumberProportion (%)NumberProportion (%)20151,39347.5333100.020161,31045.8339100.020171,25944.9300100.020181,29145.5245100.020191,30445.0203100.020201,41647.6189100.020211,45949.5164100.020221,52247.715499.420231,67948.8129100.0 Data for the ‘as at 31 March 2024’ publication will be published in July 2024 as part of the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Food: Import Controls

Viscount Waverley: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to mitigate potential supply chain disruptions, and (2) to ensure the uninterrupted flow of essential food items, when new border import controls are introduced on 30 April.

Lord Douglas-Miller: We do not expect food shortages. The resilience and reliability of food supply chains is a key objective of the Government as set out in last year’s Government Food Strategy. In implementing this new control regime for the first time on EU imports, we will carefully monitor the range of potential risks, including those that may impact food supply-chains. The three-month period from 31 January 2024 has allowed businesses time to familiarise themselves with the new requirements before full implementation on 30 April 2024. We are adopting a carefully calibrated approach to enforcement of the new controls that minimises the risk of disrupting trade flows, with an emphasis on educating and supporting businesses to comply.

Import Controls

Viscount Waverley: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that the introduction of import controls on 30 April does not result in significant delays or backlogs at the border.

Lord Douglas-Miller: DEFRA will gradually increase changes in controlled stages to balance biosecurity risk and maintain trade flows whilst minimising disruption at the border. This will allow the level of goods inspected at the border to be operationally manageable over the introductory stages. Current check rates applied to rest of world consignments will be maintained, or set to agreed BTOM levels, and will not be impacted by this incremental approach.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Eutelsat OneWeb: Finance

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask His Majesty's Government whether any additional equity or debt has been earmarked for further investment in Eutelsat OneWeb, following the Government's $500 million investment in 2020.

Viscount Camrose: Eutelsat OneWeb is a UK-based subsidiary of Eutelsat Group. The Government has not earmarked any additional equity or debt for investment into Eutelsat Group.

Eutelsat OneWeb: Finance

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current value of the Government's stake in Eutelsat OneWeb.

Viscount Camrose: Eutelsat OneWeb is a UK-based subsidiary of Eutelsat Group. At close of trading on 26 April 2024, the market value of the UK Government’s shareholding in Eutelsat Group was approximately €201 million or £171 million.The Government’s investment into OneWeb has already created or protected around 400 UK jobs and Eutelsat OneWeb continues to ramp up commercial operations, with an order book of approximately €700m according to the company’s public filings.

Artificial Intelligence: Disinformation

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to launch a call for evidence on the risks of artificial intelligence to trust in information, as proposed in their consultation outcome published 6 February.

Viscount Camrose: The Government recognises the need to both unlock the opportunities and address the potential risks of artificial intelligence.As outlined in the AI white paper consultation response, government will shortly publish a Call for Evidence on the impact of AI on trust in information, to develop our understanding of this fast moving and nascent area of technological development, including possible mitigations.This work is part of our programme to seek a range of expert views – including from researchers, academics, and civil society organisations with relevant expertise.

Treasury

Income Tax: Fraud

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest estimate of the amount of income tax lost to fraud each year.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: HMRC does not publish a stand-alone estimate of the Income tax gap arising from fraud. However, ‘Measuring tax gaps 2023 edition’, published in June 2023, shows a reduction in the Income Tax, National Insurance contributions and Capital Gains Tax gap as a percentage of the theoretical tax liability from 4.5% in 2005-2006 to 3.0% in 2021-2022. The publication also provides illustrative estimates for fraud that are included in the criminal attacks and evasion components, plus a proportion of hidden economy and non-payment.

Attorney General

War Crimes: Rwanda

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask His Majesty's Government when the Attorney General last received a briefing concerning suspected Rwandan war criminals living in England by the Crown Prosecution Service or the police.

Lord Stewart of Dirleton: The Attorney General was last briefed on this matter by the Crown Prosecution Service on 30 April 2024.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Information: Education

Baroness Garden of Frognal: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how information education, such as youth work, can complement formal education; and what discussions they have had with key stakeholders.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: HM Government recognises the vital role that informal education, such as youth work, can play in complementing formal education received by young people.Recent Government research on this topic includes the ‘Youth provision and life outcomes’ study commissioned by DCMS and published in February, and a process evaluation of the Essential Life Skills programme published by the Department for Education in 2020. The Essential Life Skills Programme (2018-19) saw a £21 million investment to implement enhanced extra-curricular activities in primary and secondary schools across 12 Opportunity Areas. Evaluation of the programme revealed high engagement and attendance, particularly among disadvantaged pupils, with reported benefits in confidence, resilience, relationship-building, and social and emotional intelligence.DCMS and DfE are building on what we learned from this programme to test a new approach to supporting secondary schools to deliver enrichment programmes through the Enrichment Partnership Pilot. This is funded by HM Treasury’s Shared Outcomes Fund, and is being delivered by the National Citizen Service Trust and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. The pilot is being evaluated by the National Foundation for Educational Research.

Youth Services

Baroness Garden of Frognal: To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) consideration they have given, and (2) discussions they have had with key stakeholders, on setting sufficiency benchmarks for youth service provision.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: As set out in section 507B of the Education Act 1996, local authorities have a statutory duty to secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient provision of educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people. This is funded from the local government settlement, which has been increased to £64 billion next year, with a further £500 million from central government dedicated to supporting children and adult social care in recognition of the pressures local authorities are facing.In September 2023, DCMS published updated statutory guidance to support local authorities’ understanding of the existing duty and how to deliver it. Alongside this, DCMS funds a peer review programme for local authorities to learn from each other about the best approaches to youth service provision. We received positive feedback from the areas that have already taken part, and are supporting more areas this year.